


Self-care is Logical

by Thuri



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 16:45:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thuri/pseuds/Thuri
Summary: Logically, a human needs self-care. Logan is not a human, in fact he is merely a mental projection of a concept. Therefore, “self-care” does not apply. His exhaustion is as imaginary as he is, and therefore does not need to be given any attention whatsoever.Virgil does not agree.





	Self-care is Logical

Virgil pushed the door to the Sides “house” open, nothing more on his mind than getting out of his work clothes and getting  _into_ bed with his warm, sleeping boyfriend. Much as he might complain to the others he actually didn’t mind hard work, but he’d been away for a few days, now, sorting through Thomas’s subconscious. And he  _missed_  Logan.

He yawned, fumbling his way out of his heavy coat and dropping it as he headed up the stairs, followed by his hat, gloves and scarf. Stupid fake weather Roman insisted on. Stupid snow. Stupid…

Virgil’s disapproval of the general state of things was interrupted by the realization that his warm, dark, welcoming room was not so dark. Nor was his warm, sleeping, welcoming boyfriend actually  _asleep_.

The light was shining from under the door of the room he shared with Logan and Virgil could hear some soprano or other singing passionately about who the hell knew what. Shit.

What the fuck was Logan doing up at four in the morning?

_Again_?

Dammit, they’d  _talked_  about this. Virgil frowned, kicking off his shoes, trying to keep himself from jumping to any conclusions. But he couldn’t help it, Logan had been working himself to the bone lately–all while giving both Roman and Thomas lectures on work life balance and self-care. The circles under his eyes had been growing, Virgil  _knew_  he’d lost weight, and he always seemed so exhausted…when was it going to stop?

And what shape would Logan be in when it did?

Virgil frowned, shoulders tightening in anticipation of the coming conflict. He didn’t want to do this again. He didn’t want to have this discussion…no. Hell. Call it what it was, this  _fight_  again.

Swallowing hard, he clenched his jaw and pushed open the bedroom door.

The sight that greeted him melted his anger and worry like frost on a warm morning.

Logan wasn’t in bed, no. But neither was he working at his desk–nor was he awake.

Instead, he was slumped sideways in the big armchair Virgil usually curled up in while Logan worked, his head resting against the back of the chair, mouth slightly opened. A soft snore escaped him and Virgil felt a fond grin spreading over his face at the sight before him.

Logan’s glasses were askew, barely still hanging on his face and he wore not his usual polo and tie, but a pair of Star Wars pajama pants and Virgil’s old black hoodie. His usually neat hair was mussed, his knees were hooked over the opposite arm of the chair, bare feet dangling, and a book hung limply from his fingers.

He looked  _ridiculously_ adorable.

The tension seeped out of Virgil’s shoulders as he quietly closed the door behind him and crossed to the chair. He gathered up Logan’s book and glasses, setting them both aside, then crouched down beside his sleeping boyfriend, just looking at him for a moment.

He looked  _exhausted_ , Virgil thought, and some of his suspicions arose again. Logan might be asleep now, but he likely hadn’t been for long. And no, it might not have been work that’d kept him up tonight, but…still. This couldn’t go on.

But Virgil could, he decided, wait until morning to take Logan to task and lay down some ground rules of his own as far as schedules were concerned. For right now…

He leaned in, fitting his lips gently to Logan’s, fighting back a smile when Logan’s lips began to move against his own and a sleepy hum escaped him. He pulled back after a moment, to meet Logan’s unfocused gaze, reaching up to push his hair back from his face. “Hey.”

Logan smiled, blinking up at him. “Hello. It appears my attempts to stay up to greet you were met with failure.”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Virgil agreed, warmth suffusing him from the inside out. Logan had been waiting up  _for him_. “You wanna go to bed, Lo?”

“I’d prefer to…to hear how your expedition went,” Logan said around a yawn.

“ _After_ you get some sleep,” Virgil said, standing and tugging gently at Logan’s hands. “C’mon. Bedtime.”

“If you insist,” Logan pouted, but allowed himself to be drawn to his feet and led over to their bed. He settled on the edge, appearing to watch Virgil as he started to undress, though Virgil knew Logan couldn’t see more than vaguely colored blurs without his glasses–especially in this dim light. “I found myself very…uncomfortable with your absence.”

Virgil flushed, surprised as always when Logan admitted to caring for him. He knew he shouldn’t be, but he still sometimes couldn’t believe Logan had chosen  _him_. “I missed you, too,” he said, kicking his jeans free and crossing to the bed, wearing only his hoodie and briefs, sitting down beside Logan. Who looked…awful, actually. “Lo…did you get any rest while I was gone?”

Okay, apparently he was going to talk about it tonight. Shit. Why did his mouth never check in with his  _brain_?

Logan’s face went carefully blank and Virgil cursed himself internally. “As much as was required for my needs.”

Virgil snorted softly. “So, no, huh? Logan, I still don’t get it. You tell Thomas how important it is over and over…”

“It is, for  _him_ ,” Logan said, looking away from Virgil, his shoulders drawn tight. “Thomas is a human, humans require a healthy sleep schedule for optimum performance. I am not a human, I am a concept, a personified mental projection and as such…”

“As such you were conceived of to mimic a human form and human  _needs_ ,” Virgil cut him off, tired of Logan’s rationalizations. “Blame Roman if you want to, buddy, but you need to sleep and eat just as much as Thomas does.”

“Logically, I shouldn’t…”

“Practically, you  _do_ , so should and shouldn’t don’t really matter, do they?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. “Or were you lying when you told  _me_ that?”

Logan winced. “Using my own words against me. A sound debate tactic.”

“I’m learning,” Virgil said wryly. He sighed. “Logan…I don’t know what else to say here. I’m worried about you. Even when you convinced Thomas to take a break a few months ago, you didn’t take one yourself. You’re pushing and pushing and pushing, and I’m…I’m afraid you’ll burn out. You’ll hurt yourself, somehow, or get sick, or…or something. And I  _know_  we’re not really real, and I know you think that should make a difference, but…I gotta say, I think you’re wrong here.”

“Ugh.” Logan reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The very fact I can’t think of decent arguments against your points is giving them more validity than I want to admit. But I’m not…I don’t neglect more human needs for fun, Virgil, Thomas’s schedule is…”

“Is important, trust me, I know,” Virgil assured him. “So is providing evidence for his beliefs and feelings, so is improving and editing Roman’s ideas, and so is calming me down. But so is taking care of yourself, so you can do all that.” His lips twisted into a half smile. “And I gotta say, I’d be a lot calmer if I didn’t have to worry about you.”

Logan laughed ruefully. “Appeal to emotion..that is not a less valid tactic. But an effective one.” He sighed, rubbing his hands roughly over his face and hair, leaving it in even more of a mess. “I will try. I’d promise I will stop, but I’m not certain it’s a promise I will keep. But I  _will_  try, Virgil.” He rubbed the back of his neck, then added more softly, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know,” Virgil assured him, reaching over and gently taking Logan’s hands in his. “I do. It…it means a lot, so thanks. Um. I can help? If you want?”

Logan let out a soft huff of breath. “I’d say yes, but we both know I’m liable to snap and snarl if interrupted.”

“So I’ll help by sending Roman in to deal with you,” Virgil said, squeezing Logan’s fingers as Logan laughed softly. “Whatever it takes.”

Logan nodded slowly. “We’ll figure something out. In the morning. Now I think we could both use some rest?”

He said it hesitantly and Virgil’s heart melted all over again. “Yeah, yeah, I think we could,” he agreed, releasing Logan only long enough for them to turn out the light, climb into bed and pull the covers up. Then he curled in against him, holding him close. “I love you,” he murmured into the darkness.

“I know,” came Logan’s soft response. “And I know how lucky I am that you do.”

Virgil felt himself blush and pressed closer. He wasn’t sure Logan was lucky, but he knew better than to argue that, at least. “Yeah, well…good.”

“And Virge?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from [anxiousoddish](https://writing-thuri.tumblr.com/post/173078322534/sanders-sides-thuri-sanders-sides-thuri):  
> Trying not to think about all those headcanons, all those fics, all those posts about Logan overworking himself might be wrong. I’ve read SO MANY fics of him getting burnt out, and refusing to sleep or eat. And canonically, he wouldn’t do that. 
> 
> Except…
> 
> I’m choosing to believe that Logan is a huge fucking hypocrite. A hungry hungry hypocrite. That he knows it’s not logical, but he just can’t follow his own advice. Maybe that advice was for Thomas, and he doesn’t think he’s worthy of the same treatment. He has a job to do, and taking care of himself isn’t part of that.


End file.
